


Begin Again

by lightofdaye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mild Angst, implied sex references, reference to canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 11:43:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19005103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightofdaye/pseuds/lightofdaye
Summary: After the Battle Of Hogwarts, it takes them a while to get going.





	Begin Again

**Author's Note:**

> Written for HP Het's [2019 Minifest](https://hphet.livejournal.com/217727.html)

The first time Ron and Hermione slept together in a literal sense was the night after the Battle Of Hogwarts. After everything was over they went up to Gryffindor Tower, still miraculously intact and ended up in Ron’s old four-poster bed in his old Dormitory room. Apart from Harry who was out like a light, it was entirely empty, Hermione supposed that everyone else had return either home or to the room of requirement where they had been sleeping for weeks. 

After the battle they barely said a word to each other, instead they just tumbled into bed together, Hermione curled up in Ron’s arms, her back to his front, nestled in the curve of his body.

Hermione awoke slowly the next morning, dozing as daylight filtered through the window. Normally she was alert quickly, her brain actively pondering the day ahead, the things she needed to do and how to go about them, formulating a plan for the day. Today there was nothing; it took her awhile to realise exactly why. 

There were two reasons, they’d won and there was nothing left from them to do and the second… Ron’s arm was not around her, but there was still a warm prescience close to her back.

Hermione rolled over her and looked up at Ron. He was wide awake, his arm propping up his head, his blue eyes wide as they looked down on her.

“Were you watching me sleep?” She said.

Ron just shrugged, he had a very odd expression on his face. 

“Ron?” Hermione said, very gently. “Do we need to talk?”

He gave the odd look again, to her it look like a man on the edge of a precipice, steeling himself for something. Then he gave her a lopsided smile.

“I don’t know, Hermione, do we? I feel like I prefer the way we expressed our feelings yesterday.”

She felt her cheeks heat up.

“Oh really? Well in that case...” Hermione leant close to Ron and pressed her lips to his. It was nothing like the intensity of the kiss she planted on him in the middle of the battle, but instead it just went on and on and on

Ron’s strong arms slide around her, pulling her close to his chest, her front against his, her hands rose stroking through his ginger hair gently as her mouth open and his tongue darted exploringly over hers.

When they separated, Hermione was flushed, exultant and breathless. She grinned at Ron. He did not grin back. 

Instead his face was a whirl of conflicting emotions, pole-axed shock changed to ridiculously exaggerated pleasure before crossing immediately back to shock and down to despair. His blue eyes watered and he turned away from her, sitting up on the bed. 

“Ron?” She said softly, touching his shoulder. He flinched slightly but did not knock away her hand.

“Sorry. I’m sorry,” he mumbled, hiding his face. “Sorry, Hermione. Sorry, I…” But he trailed off apparently unable to continue.

“Ron, what’s wrong?” Hermione asked.

“Nothing, nothing,” Ron gabbled. “That was amazing, Hermione. It made me so happy, I shouldn’t be this happy. Not now. Now with everyone who’s...”

 _Died. Like George_ Hermione thought and the thought was like a spear to the chest. She felt like curling up herself but instead just wrapped her arm around Ron and held him close.

There was still clutching other, much later when Harry awoke as well. 

-

They spent the rest of the summer at The Burrow, all three of them. All the Weasleys who were left did. Funerals and Memorials were held, plans for the future of the Wizard World were drawn up and reconstruction began while they sat around and waited for things to start anew.

All of them received a great deal of mail, and one afternoon in late summer, Ron sat alone with Harry in the lounge of The Burrow, surrounded by piles of their mail; letters from their fans, requests for interviews from magazines and newspapers (even a couple from Rita Skeeter, which had been used as kindling) but they were ignored, there were only two they were remotely interested in a letter from Minister Shacklebolt about joining the Aurors, and one from Professor McGonagall saying they were eligible to return for a seventh year at Hogwarts if they wished. Even these had been put aside though and instead they pondered over the old battered chessboard that rest between them.

“So,” Harry said, in apropos of nothing and ignoring that it was his move. “have you and Hermione done it yet?”

“What?” Ron felt his ears went red.

“Well, you’ve been sneaking off for a snog every now and again ever since well… you know when, so I just wondered...”

Ron glared at him reprovingly. It didn’t help, Harry’s green eyes flashed and he grinned knowingly at Ron, irrepressibly.

“She’s like your sister, you said.” Ron accusingly.

“I know. She is.” Harry went pink. “I’m not asking for the dirty details, mate. I don’t want to know. I just...”

“Just what?”

“Look it’s okay to be happy okay?” Harry blurted out but he looked Ron frankly in the eye. “I am. No-one hold it’s against me. You should be too.”

He held Ron’s gaze for a moment longer than cough and turned his head to the side, suddenly awkward again.

“In an entirely different note,” he continued after a moment. “Ginny and I are going to visit Luna’s for tea. You know we keep an eye on her. Don’t wait up, we’ll be back late even if she doesn’t invite us to stay over.”

Ron stared at Harry for a long moment, then he rose to his feet and walked away abandoning the game in an instead as he strode towards the stairs.

Hermione was lying on her bed in the room she nominally shared with Ginny, a weight tome propped her up in her lap. Ron hovered awkwardly in the door way as she put it aside and moved towards him.

He stepped into her room and closed the door behind him. Then turned to face Hermione. She tilted her head at him quizzically.

“I love you, Hermione,” He said simply. “I thought I just come right out and say that.”

Her smile was brilliant and he wrapped his arms about her and kissed her passionately. Their arms wrapped tightly around each other as they clutched at each other.

Ron was barely cognizant of them falling down on to her bed, still entwined. They didn’t leave it for a long time.

Until it was dawn and light was blazing on a brand new day for them, together.


End file.
